Guyana is an Amazonian country located in the northern part of South America. The country is firmly committed to further the green and fair transitions.
Guyana is one of the few countries worldwide with which the EU has signed both the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) and the Forest Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). They were endorsed in 2022 in the margins of the UN climate conference, COP27 and the UN biodiversity conference, COP15.
Our partnership
The EU supports Guyana towards sustainable and inclusive development, in line with the “Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030” and the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda. Our action builds on Guyana’s firm commitment to be a leading example in forest conservation and green transition.
The Joint Forest Partnership Team Europe Initiative in Guyana and in Suriname brings together the EU and its Members States with France as main partner.
The EU adopted a Programming Document for the period 2021-27 under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe). Under that framework, the EU allocated €21 million funding to the partnerships with Guyana over 2021-24. Guyana also benefits from a number of multi-country EU programmes.
Multiannual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 for Guyana - Annex
Annual action plan 2023 for Guyana
Annual Action Plan 2022 for Guyana
Memorandum of Understanding on Forest Partnership between the EU and Guyana
Our flagship initiatives
EU cooperation with Guyana focuses on climate and health:
- Climate – assisting Guyana in maintaining its low deforestation rate and implementing its climate commitments
- Legal timber trade: achieving FLEGT licensing, while creating value added in timber products and encouraging sustainable forest management practices
- Mangroves: supporting institutional coordination and the development of regulations for better protection and conservation
- Sustainable livelihoods: increasing local capacity and supporting territorial governance to foster the development of sustainable value chains and equitable income-generating activities
- Ecosystem services: promoting forest conservation via the development of payment for environmental services (incentives offered to farmers or landowners in exchange for managing their land to provide an ecological service)
- Renewable energy: expanding off-grid solar panels for the hinterland, diversifying the country’s energy mix and transition away from fossil fuels
- Health – accompanying Guyana’s development through economic diversification that strengthens health resilience
- Vaccines manufacturing : facilitating investments in infrastructure and the regulatory environment that will be necessary for the development of local manufacturing and secure supply chains. This is part of the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Partnership: manufacturing vaccines, medicines and health technologies and strengthening health systems and in line with the Pharmaceutical Equity for Global Public Health led by Guyana, Barbados and Rwanda
- Water management: building and upgrading water treatment plants and improving water systems to provide water for the people and the environment
- 24 OCTOBER 2023